


tell me if i'm wrong, tell me if i'm right

by zialllovessterek



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, M/M, nico works at a video store
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-22
Updated: 2014-11-22
Packaged: 2018-02-26 13:49:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2654294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zialllovessterek/pseuds/zialllovessterek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Nico tries (and fails) to not crush on the dreamy blond guy he meets in the bathroom at work.</p>
            </blockquote>





	tell me if i'm wrong, tell me if i'm right

Nico hated his job. It wasn't because of the long hours (he could use the extra cash anyways). And it wasn't because of the fact that he got paid minimum wage. He could handle all of that with a smile on his face (sort of). It was his boss that was constantly finding new ways to ruin his life. 

"Nico!" Octavian barked from his office. "Bathroom duty!" 

Nico fought the urge to seeth as he marched towards the bathroom with a mop and no-name cleaning supplies. Hazel shot him a sympathetic look from behind the counter which he returned with a somewhat forced half-smile. It was the third time in the past two days that Octavian had ordered Nico on bathroom duty. It was like the guy hated him or something!

Nico shoved open the bathroom door and began to vigorously scrub at one of the sinks while cursing out his boss under his breath. 

"Hey, what did that sink ever do to you?" He heard someone joke from behind him. 

Nico turned around slowly to face what could only be described as maybe the fifth most attractive man that he had ever seen. Nico narrowed his eyes as he took in the appearance of this stranger. He looked like he was maybe older, possibly athletic, with the type of arms that could only be obtained through serious workouts. 

Wonderboy cleared his throat and Nico realized that he had been staring. Against his own will, he felt his cheeks start to redden. Oh c'mon, what was he, twelve years old again? 

Luckily, Dreamboat seemed relatively unfazed and shot forward a large tanned hand. "Jason Grace, nice to meet you." He grinned at Nico like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread. (That handsome bastard).

"Uh," Nico gestured towards his own gloved hands that were covered in unidentifiable sink scum and sink cleaner that Octavian had probably made sure was both highly toxic and corrosive. 

"Oh, right," Jason scratched his head as if it had just occurred to him that he most likely did not want that stuff on his skin. "So... do you often wrestle with sinks?"

"Only when my boss makes it his life mission to make me miserable," Nico mumbled more at the floor than at Jason. His attractiveness was a little intimidating to face head-on, okay?

"Oh, so you work here at the video store? No way, I love this place!" Why was this hunky guy still talking to him? Nico felt uncomfortable and he wasn't sure if it was a positive or a negative feeling. 

"Yes, I work here. Did you think I was cleaning the bathrooms for fun?" Nico deadpanned. Was this guy for real?

Now it was Jason's turn to look embarrassed. "Oh... right. Yeah, I guess I should've figured. So... how long have you worked here?" 

Whoa. So his sarcastic remarks weren't enough to scare this guy off, huh? "It's been three months," Nico replied with enough courage to make eye contact. 

Jason's annoyingly perfect smile brightened even more (if that was possible). "So I guess I'll see you around.... Sorry, what was your name? I didn't catch that."

"Nico. It's Nico."

"Cool! See you later, Nico!"

And because Nico is totally an eleven year old girl, he spent the rest of his bathroom cleaning shift with butterflies in his stomach and hearts in his eyes. Totally lame. 

When his shift was over and it was time for his lunch break, Hazel could tell something was up. 

"Hey, Nico, did something happen earlier? You're acting really... different," she proceeded cautiously as she unwrapped her sandwich. 

Nico's heart hammered in his chest. He could just tell Hazel. She was the closest thing that he had to a best friend and she always knew just what to say to make him feel better. However, if he told her, that would involve him having to come out to her, which could go badly, which could result in Hazel hating him, which could result in Nico having no friends. "Am I?" Nico asked casually. "I'm probably still just buzzed from the coffee I drank earlier."

Hazel studied his face closely as he tried desperately to keep a blank expression. "Alright," she said finally. "You should drink less coffee though."

Nico let out a breath he hadn't realized he was ever holding. "Yeah, maybe." 

Hazel put her sandwich down on the counter and reached over to place her hand over Nico's. (She was the only person who could get away with doing this). "No, I'm serious. You've got to make some changes. Nico, listen, enough with the coffee and the loneliness and the isolation."

Nico avoided her gaze. "Hazel, I--"

"I'm hanging out tonight with some friends. Just a few people, watching some movies, eating some pizza, all that stuff. Listen, I'm not going to force you to come," her voice was soft but firm. "I'd really like it if you did though. You would enjoy yourself and I'd be with you the whole time."

Nico had too much of a soft spot for his half-sister to deny her request. He shook his shaggy black hair out of his eyes and nodded.

Hazel's smile was worth it. "Thanks, Nico! We can head over to my friend Thalia's after work, that's where the movie night's gonna be."

"Alright, lunch break is over!" Octavian strutted out of his 'Manager' office. "Back to work! And Nico, you can restock the video game aisle."

Nico fought the urge to slam his head into the wall. Ever since the new Grand Theft Auto game had come out, the video game section of the store had been a disorderly mess. Personally, Nico didn't see the appeal around such a game. He was more of a magical fantasy video game player himself. 

Surprisingly enough, (which was actually very surprisingly), the rest of the day went by fairly quickly. Nico had a lot on his mind. Okay, so he mainly had Jason on his mind. He wondered if Jason was even single. Jason probably had some blond cheerleader girlfriend that he was engaged to be married to or something. Whatever, it's not like Nico actually had a chance. Most of his crushes turned out like this. Straight guys who had steady girlfriends and were just talking to him to be nice, blah, blah, blah. 

At the end of the day, Hazel met Nico at the exit of the video store. She zipped up her coat and shot him a grin. "I'm starving! I already texted Thalia and told her that we both wanted cheese pizza. Well, I know you want pizza with olives and mushrooms but I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable about her ordering a separate pizza for you," Hazel rambled on as she directed Nico to her car. 

Nico smiled wistfully. That was one of the best things about having Hazel as a sister and friend; she always knew exactly what to do and say to make life easier for him without him even having to ask. Deep down, Nico knew that Hazel would most likely accept him if he told her the truth, but it was that minuscule chance that she wouldn't that kept him from speaking up. 

Hazel turned on the car and turned on an indie-rock radio station that both her and her brother enjoyed. Before pulling out, she quickly checked herself out in a compact mirror. 

"Hey, do I look okay?" Hazel asked Nico as she peered into the compact mirror. 

"Of course," Nico responded automatically as he studied his sister. "Why? Is someone... special going to be there tonight?"

Hazel blushed. "Maaaybe... I'm not sure yet. I'll keep you updated."

Nico was glad. Hazel deserved someone as amazing as she was. 

By the time that they arrived to the pizza party, movie night, friendly hangout thing, they were already ten minutes late. As they stood in front of the apartment door, waiting for someone to answer it, Nico honestly felt a little nervous. Without meaning to, he glanced down at his outfit. A skull t-shirt and black jeans? That didn't exactly scream approachable. Maybe he should just go home. Yeah, it would probably be for the best if he just went home and--

"Hey Hazel! And you must be Nico," A girl with short choppy black hair opened the door. She had several piercings and wore a shirt that said 'PUNK IS NOT DEAD' in calligraphic script. Nico instantly felt more comfortable knowing that he wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb. "I'm Thalia. Why don't you guys come on in? The pizza just got here a couple of minutes ago."

Hazel ushered Nico inside, where he was greeted by the smell of cheesy pizza and... what was that? Incense, maybe? He slid off his sneakers and followed Thalia and Hazel to the den.

"Hazel!" A slightly chubby asian guy leaped off the coach, almost tripping over his own feet as he jogged over to where Hazel, Nico, and Thalia were standing. 

Hazel's face lit up when she saw him. Nico raised his eyebrows at the scene unfolding in front of him. The guy reached forward for a hug, then hesitated and dropped his arms, opting for a friendly, yet awkward handshake. 

One of the kids sitting on the couch, was also watching Hazel and mystery guy with an amused look on his face. He made eye contact with Nico and shrugged as if to say kids these days, am I right? Hazel was already deep into conversation with this guy, so Nico took the opportunity to observe the rest of people around him. 

There was one girl who seemed to be in charge of whatever mayhem was going on. She was sitting cross-legged in front of the television, flipping through DVD cases, occasionally picking one up and then reading the back and either scrunching her nose or frowning before adding it back to the pile. With a sinking feeling in his heart, Nico realized that she was Annabeth; the long term steady girlfriend of Percy. Yeah, still a sore subject. 

Anyways, moving on. His eyes rested on the guy from earlier, who was deep in conversation with a pretty girl beside him. Nico wondered if they were dating. He decided that they weren't; the girl seemed way too exasperated with his antics. 

"Nico!" Nico turned around to see Thalia approaching him with a box of pizza. 

He grabbed a slice of cheese pizza and nodded appreciatively. Speaking wasn't always his forte, especially with strangers. She didn't seem insulted however, and motioned for him to have a seat beside her on the floor. 

"You must think I'm a terrible hostess," Thalia said as she took a bite of her pizza. 

Nico shook his head. Generally, he would prefer to be at home right now, but Thalia seemed pretty nice and this experience was not totally horrible yet. 

Thalia ran her fingers through her short hair absentmindedly. "I haven't even introduced you to everyone yet, have I?" 

Nico didn't know if he was supposed to answer that or not. Was that technically a retorical question? Should he say something? Luckily, he didn't have to. 

Thalia pointed towards the couch. "You see that kid who's picking all the pepperonis off his pizza and throwing them at that girl? That's Leo. And that girl who is currently giving him the dirtiest look for getting pepperoni in her hair? That's Piper."

"Leo and Piper," Nico repeated. "Got it."

"That girl over there by the DVDs is Annabeth," Thalia continued. Nico sort of already knew Annabeth but he didn't offer any information on the subject. "And, the guy talking to Hazel is Frank."

Frank and Hazel seemed to be deep in a personal conversation. Both of them were blushing like they had a middle school crush and Hazel kept tucking her hair behind her ears, which she only did when she felt embarrassed. 

"Ayo, Annabeth!" Leo called from the couch. "Are you gonna put on a movie or what?"

Annabeth paid his rudeness no mind. "Yeah, give me another minute. Besides, we should wait for Jason before we start."

Jason? What were the chances that it was the same Jason as from the bathroom this morning? Nico wasn't great at math but he knew the chances had to be slim to none or something, right? 

"Jason's always late to these things," Leo grumbled. "Thalia, put a leash on your brother."

Thalia snorted beside Nico. So, theoretically speaking, if this was the same Jason, it meant he was Thalia's brother?

Just then, the sound of the front door opening could be heard. Nico could hear someone removing their shoes and walking towards the den. God, please don't let it be the same Jason, Nico prayed. I've suffered through enough awkward encounters for this lifetime.

Nico refused to look up at the newcomer. He stared at the guy's feet and sort of prayed that he would be granted with the power of invisibility. 

"You know, Thalia, you should really find a new place to hide your spare key, someone could just reach under your doormat and break into-- Oh hey! Nico, right?" Jason plopped down beside Nico, ignoring the look of confusion that Thalia shot him. 

Nico was cursing whatever facetious higher power thought that it was hilarious to make his life into this awkward, embarassing joke.


End file.
